- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement within the Programme for Government 2025-26 of £4.5 million for new specialist support for long COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), chronic fatigue and other similar conditions, what it identifies as "similar conditions".
Answer
Long COVID and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) are examples of post-acute infection syndromes. Work is ongoing to determine how the additional £4.5 million announced in the 2025-26 budget to deliver new specialist support will be allocated to NHS boards. It is expected that NHS boards will develop support based on their understanding of local population need and synergies with existing local service provision.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has not implemented its 2021 commitment to reduce teacher class contact time to 21 hours per week.
Answer
Implementation of the reduction of class contact time requires agreement through the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT).
The Scottish Government remains committed to reducing class contact time, and we will continue to work with COSLA and the teacher unions, through the SNCT to agree our approach to delivering this important commitment at pace.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many representations it has received from parents, schools and MSPs in the last five years regarding bereavement-based appeals not being accepted by the SQA.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37627 on 27 May 2025.
The following table sets out any representations that officials have identified as being received by the Scottish Government referencing bereavement-based exceptional circumstances or appeals arrangements in relation to the National Qualifications.
It should be borne in mind that different exceptional circumstances and appeals arrangements were in place in 2020, 2021 and 2022 as a result of the alternative awarding processes in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Year | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
Representations on bereavement based EECCS or appeals | One case identified from an individual on behalf of young people raising concerns around the approach taken to appeals in 2020. | One case identified from an MSP on behalf of a parent raising concern about school and SQA handling of a bereavement request under different awarding approach taken in 2021. | One case identified from a parent raising concerns about grade awarded through EECCS request. | One case identified from a parent raising concerns about the EECCS process in relation to a bereavement where insufficient evidence available. | No cases identified. |
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) adults and (b) children with type 1 diabetes it expects to onboard to closed-loop systems in 2025.
Answer
We expect to provide hybrid closed loop systems to at least 2500 people in the financial year 2025-2026. This builds on the more than 2100 people who received a hybrid closed loop system in 2024-2025.
The approach of this programme allows boards to manage their own financial allocation, but we expect children and young people to be prioritised, including those newly diagnosed across the year. This means it is not possible to provide an exact breakdown between adults and children but reporting across the year will allow us to track this nationally.
However, any child or young person living with Type 1 diabetes in Scotland should now have had, at minimum, a referral to receive a closed loop system.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 27 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-36183 by Mairi Gougeon on 9 April 2025, when it expects to finalise any requirement for remote electronic monitoring on (a) inshore and (b) offshore trawl fleets.
Answer
Our Fisheries Management Strategy sets out actions to support the fishing fleet to modernise, and for appropriate use to be made of new and additional technology, including remote electronic monitoring (REM). As part of this the Scottish Government has already delivered on our commitment to introduce REM requirements for pelagic and scallop vessels, with legislation being passed in June 2024. The legislation can be found at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2024/165/contents/made
Our commitment to improve the inshore fisheries evidence base through the use of appropriate and proportionate onboard electronic technology monitoring on under 12 metre vessels is currently being progressed.
Further rollout of remote electronic monitoring to other fleets, including offshore trawl vessels, is under review and options will be developed alongside our Future Catching Policy.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 16 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many pupils in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools have needed catheterising in each year since 1999, also broken down by local authority area.
Answer
The information you have requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 16 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 27 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many young people have received a private mental health diagnosis in each year since 1999.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not collect this data.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its proposed timetable is for legislation to reform additional support needs provision.
Answer
The Scottish Government is working closely with our local government partners to improve the experience of children and young people with additional support needs at school, implementing the recommendations of the 2020 review of additional support for learning.
During a debate in Parliament on the Review of Additional Support for Learning and Implementation of Mainstreaming, held on 14 May 2025, the Scottish Government committed to engaging in a cross-party roundtable with Local Government to discuss what more can be done to support Additional Support Needs in our schools and to undertaking a review of Additional Support for Learning.
The scope and detail of the review will be informed by the outcome of the roundtable discussion and will also draw on the evidence set out in the recent reports from the Education, Children and Young People Committee Inquiry Report, Audit Scotland briefing and the Children and Young People Commissioner’s Report.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of the effectiveness of BMI as an indicator of health in (a) general and (b) relation to access to IVF treatment.
Answer
The Scottish Government is aware of the limitations of BMI as an indicator of obesity and its links to health outcomes and of NICE updated guidance (January 2025) section 1.9 Identifying and assessing overweight, obesity and central adiposity | Overweight and obesity management | Guidance | NICE
Whilst BMI still remains a useful population level indicator, discussions are in progress to include waist circumference to height ratio data in the future Scottish Health Survey Reports.
In relation to access to NHS IVF treatment, I refer you to the answers to written parliamentary question numbers S6W-37455 and S6W-37456 on 27 May 2025.
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 27 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to address any need to balance the reported operational pressures and budget constraints of Police Scotland with the need to maintain a visible and adequate security presence in courtrooms to ensure safety.
Answer
The operation of Police Scotland, including decisions on the allocation of resources and the deployment of officers and staff, is for the Chief Constable, under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority. This includes the provision of Police Officers in courts, to maintain public order within the building, ensuring that all court users continue to be in an environment where their safety is maintained.
Despite unprecedented challenges to public finances, the 2025-26 Scottish Police Authority budget has increased to £1.64 billion, an increase of almost £90 million when compared to the 2024-25 budget.